Chicken Isn't Laughing
by Funkiechick
Summary: Pg-13 for swears. When Zell takes a moment to sadly over-look his position with the team, Rinoa is there to make sure he doesn't doubt his worth. R&R!!!


Chicken Isn't Laughing  
By Funkiechick  
  
(This fic idea occurred to me when I was playing ff8 the other night and I noted what a jerk off everyone is to poor Zell, except for Rinoa. So without further adu...)  
  
It wasn't funny anymore.  
  
That's all that came to Zell's mind these days. It wasn't funny. Not anymore. It might have been...a little. Back at the beginning. But did they really think it didn't BOTHER him? Did they really think he didn't FEEL anything?  
  
Well they must. Or they wouldn't do it all the time.  
  
Perhaps he asked for it. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as he thought it was. But it didn't stop him from wanting to cry all the time. And Zell hated crying. It was something he had done since he was a kid, and he had always-and will always- hate it.  
  
Selphie was the worst. She didn't MEAN to be, he knew that. But she just wouldn't let anything go. Dumb Zell, over-confident Zell, hyperactive Zell. Like she was one to talk, for chrissake!!  
  
She had even called him gay once. And that was the time that Zell truly thought everyone would decide to back off. They would finally realize they were really just going too far.  
  
But they didn't.  
  
They thought it was funny.  
  
Hey. It probably was. I mean, who was Zell kidding? He was a joke. A joke with hair like a chicken, ADHD and a childish way of pouting whenever nothing went his way. He was an idiot. And nobody cared.  
  
Irvine wasn't so bad, he supposed. They got along same as always. But every once and awhile a comment of Irvine's just flew up out of nowhere, came out of nothing. And his comments always got the most laughs. He was always the funniest when it came to Zell's 'stupid' antics.   
  
Then they'd all laugh again.  
  
Quistis was just harsh. She wouldn't say anything, which was sometimes worse. She wouldn't laugh, she'd simply smirk, and look at him as if to say 'Aw, come ON, Zell. It was all you were good for in CLASS anyway.'  
  
God knows Squall TRIED to defend Zell after they got closer. He would glare, fold his arms across his chest, and not laugh. But he acted that way nearly all the time, minus when Rinoa was around. So no one really took the hint.   
  
Rinoa...she...she cared about everybody. And she didn't laugh at him.  
  
In fact, when group jokes passed about, Zell was the only one she never laughed at. She never really said a word against him. But he never heard her defend him either. So what was Zell supposed to do now? Run home to his mommy, like he used to? Like he wanted to?   
  
And what, exactly, would he say?  
  
'Mama!' Sniffle. 'The kids are being MEAN to me!' Did he think that was an option?  
  
No. It wasn't.  
  
Moments like this were the hardest for Zell. When he had to sit on his own to make sure he didn't lose it at anybody when everything started to overflow. If he lost it, if he yelled, they would just get angry at him. They would talk dirty behind his back. He wouldn't be able to take that.  
  
He couldn't take really anything anymore.  
  
'Oh God.' Zell thought, as he sat on an outskirt field of Balamb Garden. He buried his face in his arms. 'Oh GOD.'  
  
"Oh hey!!! THERE you are!"  
  
Zell snapped out of his thoughts, and turned his head rapidly to see Rinoa standing above him, hands on her hips. She smiled. "Sorry. Did I scare you?" She asked, smiling.  
  
Zell hesitated, then shook his head-which he then burrowed back into his arms.  
  
"Zell?"  
  
He didn't answer her.  
  
"Zell? Zell are-" She put a hand on his shoulder. "Zell? Are you okay?"  
  
"Shouldn't you be off making out with SQUALL or something?" Zell snapped at her, glaring. Rinoa winced, but then sighed. She plopped down next to him on the grass.   
  
"No." She shook her head. "You're not okay."  
  
"What tipped you off?" He mumbled, sounding dejected.  
  
"What's wrong?" Rinoa asked. "Must have been pretty bad to dampen YOUR spirits."  
  
Zell shook his head. "I..." He continued to shake his head, mumbling. And then finally wiping a group of tears away childishly with the back of his hand. "I..." His voice shuddered. "Oh SHIT."  
  
"Oh my God, Zell." Rinoa said worridly. "What's wrong!?" She took one of his hands in her own. "Tell me."  
  
"Selphie called me a chicken wuss in front of Lana."  
  
"The...the girl with the pigtail?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Rinoa stared politely, and Zell knew it didn't sound like a big deal. In fact, it didn't sound like a deal at all. But it was. "Lana laughed. And no one defended me and FUCK me, no one ever does and sometimes everything piles up and I just come here and CRY...sometimes, you know. So I don't...I dunno, embaress myself more than I already have."  
  
Rinoa's face was sympathetic, with that twinkle in her eye that was always indicating she could be a bright spot in the middle of the darkest of times.  
  
"Everyone can be really hard on you, can't they?" She said softly. Zell nodded. "They can be real jerks, sometimes."  
  
"How would YOU know??!" Zell exclaimed. He looked at their linked hands, and pulled his own away, blushing furiously. "Everybody LOVES you! You turned Mr. Ice into a friggen TEDDY BEAR! You're gorgeous and you're funny and no one EVER makes fun of you because there's no REASON to!" Zell took a shaky and sobby sounding breath. "YOU, of all people, think you know how I feel?"  
  
"If you care to remember, Zell." Rinoa answered patiently. "I'm the only one without a past link to the rest of you, and I used to be in love with SEIFER." She smiled. "You think Selphie never rubs that in? You think Quistis never lectures me because I'm childish? You think Irvine pays any attention to me now that he has Selphie? Rinoa shook her head. "I know it's not bad for me, really. But I still KNOW what they can be like. And I've been there before when they've bothered you." She sighed, and stretched her legs out in front of her. "Like the time when Selphie called you Squall's-"  
  
"Ex-lover." Zell mumbled embaressedly.  
  
"Yes. I was there. If it makes you feel better, I've told them off as much as I could." Rinoa sighed and took his hand again. "They don't mean to, Zell."  
  
Zell sniffed again, still crying. "I'm acting like a wuss, aren't I?"  
  
"Oh don't be dumb, of course not." Rinoa smiled. "Zell, you are one of the bravest, most amazing guys I know. You aren't afraid to be yourself. Do you know how special that is?"  
  
"No one seems to LIKE 'myself'." Zell replied pessmisticly.  
  
"Yes we DO, honey!" Rinoa insisted. "We LOVE you."  
  
Zell continued sniffing, and Rinoa held open her arms. "Hug. And cry, go ahead."  
  
With that, Zell wrapped his arms strongly around her waist, and buried his face in her neck, crying. Rinoa rubbing his back soothingly. The hug lasted a few moments, Zell soaking in the comfort he so needed, and Rinoa being there. Being there because he needed someone.  
  
Afterwords, Zell pulled back, his eyes red and a small grin on his face. Rinoa smiled. "Feel better?"  
  
"I think so." He gave a huge post-cry sigh. "Fuck." He mumbled. "I feel drained."  
  
"Zell." Rinoa said. "You want to know something?"  
  
Zell rubbed his eyes, and took one more sniff. "Yeah?"  
  
"Selphie." Rinoa smiled. "Used to have a crush on you." Zell stared at her, his eyes wide open.  
  
"Really?" Zell laughed. "You're shittin' me!"  
  
"Nope." Rinoa grinned. "And Irvine confided that you 'kick ass'. Not just literally. And Quistis." Rinoa paused took take effect. "Says you're the most compassionate guy she knows. And Squall..."  
  
"Yeah?" Zell prodded.  
  
"Squall...well, Squall says that you're his best friend."  
  
Zell blinked. "He really said that?" A smile spread across the blonde's face. "Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
Zell looked down at the ground. "What about you? What do you think?"  
  
Rinoa grinned knowingly. "After Squall, I'd have to say I trust you the most. More than any of the others. I trust you like I did Watt, and Zone. You mean a lot to me, honey." She tilted her head slightly. "Okay?"  
  
Zell was blushing now, and then he nodded. "Me too, uhm...same. You know?"  
  
She laughed, and then leaned forward, kissing him softly on the forehead. "I know." She stood up then, pulling him up with her. "You okay?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah." He gathered her in his arms then, and hugged her in a childish way. "Thanks, Rinoa. Squall is one lucky dude."  
  
Rinoa laughed as he released her, and she slapped his shoulder. "You're gonna make me blush."  
  
"Too late." He grinned, then took a deep breath. "I'm ready to go back now."  
  
"Good. I'm starved. Wanna grab a hotdog?"  
  
"Shit yes. Very badly."   
  
Rinoa laughed, grasped his wrist, and then pulled him along, back to the garden. "And Zell?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Don't swear."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
END   
  
(I LOVE this story. I know it's not too good, but it's one of my favorites that I wrote. YAY YAY YAY!!!! Please R&R!) 


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